One of my favorite books is Dale Carnegie's "How To Win Friends and Influence People". It is filled with his 30 principles on how to treat people.
I think his first principle is one of the most important.
Principle #1
Don't criticize, condemn, or complain.
This list of Cs to avoid is especially important when you are talking about your body. How many times have you criticized, condemned, or complained about something regarding your body while we have been sheltering in place?
And the magical follow-up question to that: How is that working for you?
Below are a few common comments people say to themselves. See if you can figure out what they have in common.
1
.
Criticize
- "Ugh, I am so fat!"
2. Condemn- "
I will never lose this weight!"
3. Complain- "
If I was younger, richer, healthier, not so busy, not so tired, and (insert any other excuse) I would lose this weight."
The thing all 3 of those statements have in common is that they are doing absolutely nothing to fix the situation. On the contrary they are making things worse!
Instead of criticizing yourself on your weight, why not focus on the things your body is actually good at?
It can be overwhelming when you have a lot of weight to lose. But you are not a lost cause!
Do this quick test. Put a mirror underneath your nose, wait 10 seconds. Did it fog up? As long as you have breath in your body you are still in the fight.
One pound at a time. One day at a time. Rinse and repeat until you reach your goal.
Let's talk social media for a second. I see people that complain all day about ALL DAY about everything.
All they do is complain but never do anything to remedy the situation. What are your thoughts about those people?
You probably get really frustrated and make it a point to avoid them or even unfriend them. Complaining without taking action is a sure-fire way to make yourself and those around you miserable.
Instead of turning to the C's, let's do something about it! What's ONE thing you can do to improve your situation?
When you AAA it helps you want to live for another day. Rhyming always makes things better.
A-Action
A-Alleviates
A-Anxiety
Even planning to do something counts as taking action. Because it is the first step in taking back control of your life.
The size of the action doesn't matter, taking that first step towards remedying the situation does.
Never give away control of your life by giving in to negative self-talk. It leads to a self-defeating attitude that will get you nowhere.
Avoid the 3Cs, begin to AAA, and we will get through this.
